Archives for April 2012

THE LEAST OF THESE

“whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (Matthew 25:45).

We were all excited! We would take clothes, shoes, bread & water to the Beta Yisrael children, most of them orphans, in EnFranz, Gondar. We woke up early and took the 90-minute drive to some very excited children.

The countryside had not changed:

• rolling hills, sparse greenery, cows, goats, and lambs grazing in the meadows or the hillsides;
• Some animals being led by gabi-clad farmers or young boys to market hours away in Gondar;
• Children walking for several hours to school.

When we stopped by some of the smaller towns, children clambered to the van selling cold drinks, tissues, and sweets. I bought tissues and sweets from this little boy for 10 birr (by the way, 1 American dollar is equal to 17.5 Ethiopian birr) and told him to keep the change; he quickly went to the sidewalk, counted his catch and posed for me as I took a picture of him.

This time, the driver was able to get us a little closer to the village and we saw the children and seemingly the whole community sitting under that huge oak tree.

The guys spread out the mat and dumped the shoes and outfits on the mat. Bailie and I arranged the clothing according to sizes; Sherri and two other male locals arranged the shoes; Aminta handled the bread and water. As we gave them their gifts, we blessed them!

Bailie and I had a difference of opinion on the sizes; he measured length of pants by holding the waist just under the crotch. 🙂 Needless to say that some of the children started exchanging sizes.

When I saw this regal face, again, I had to take another picture of him, this time with his package of clothes. (Remember him from an earlier blog?) Ethiopian princes must have resembled him! Look at how he received his gift — so nonchalantly and unmoved! Same intense look!

I also could not resist taking a picture with him. (Okay, he wasn’t looking at the camera.) Then he was off to receive his bottle of water and bread. I wish I could remember his name.

Here are the children arrayed in their new clothes: pinks, greens, and reds, blues, browns, etc…

Below, Rabbi Gedamu poses with the children.

We wanted them to know that all of these clothes, the food and the water were sent by God who loved them and who had sent us because He loved them!

To those who sowed into my trip to Ethiopia, thank you! You dressed these children, fed them, served them, and showed them the love of God! You did this to the least of these so you did it unto Him!

VISITING THE ORPHANS IN THEIR TROUBLE

“to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27)

After Sherri, Aminta, and I compiled all the names and sizes of the Beta Yisrael orphans from Enfranz, we went to the marketplace in Gondar to shop for their clothing. Kiosks, aligned on busy, rocky roads, sell all kinds of clothing and housewares. Some merchants, no doubt, too poor to afford a kiosk, arranged themselves under umbrellas selling mangos, peppers, onions garlic, etc. Little children helped to peddle these wares or play in the dusty streets, definitely no place for asthmatics–for the dust combined with exhaust from scooters, trucks and taxis all blend for a sneezing frenzy! That’s exactly what I had!

Aft the first kiosk, Rabbi Gedamu bargained with the owner for 175 pair of shoes for the children. We watched as these youthful workers ran to storage centers trying to find the proper sizes. Soon 3 sacks of shoes were prepared for distribution to these Beta Yisrael orphans.

I wanted to hold up a pair of shoes that would bless little feet.

Rebekeneha, Rabbi Gedamu’s sister, found a kiosk that offered a good price for a pair of warm up pants, a sleeveless vest and a jacket, one set for each of the children. This kiosk provided some protection from the dust and sun and the proprietor even asked his workers to provide benches for us. We left with over 175 outfits for the children.

Sherri’s & Rabbi Gedamu’s vision of clothing the children had come true. I must admit, Rabbi Gedamu did most of the work, haggling with owners and overseeing quality and quantity control. He looks worn out, doesn’t he?

The next day we bought water and bread for each child and loaded it on the truck and then boarded it ourselves to make that 90 minute drive to Enfranz Village in Gondar.

TRUE RELIGION IS THIS!

Early one morning we boarded a van that took us through the smaller towns of Tada and MacSingyet, the larger town of Azezo to Enfranz and finally to a village there called Kayafay (red soil). A smoothly paved road meandered through the most beautiful rural countryside where children tended cows and sheep in sparsely grassy meadows. Tufts of greenery dotted the landscape and some cows found shade under the sporadic trees.

Leather-faced farmers, uniformly dressed school children, men and women under heavy burdens walked these long roads under a merciless sun. I wondered where they were going. The only signs of habitation that dotted the countryside were mud and hay huts.

To get to the Jewish village, we had to turn off the main road and travel over dry, bumpy, red terrain that was cracking in the heat, like an earthquake halted. Cow dung patties were stacked neatly in triangular mounds in anticipation of the winter months when they would be burned to provide heat for the families. When children saw us, they stared in wonderment and then took off running after the van. In the first village, we got out to greet the children and to take pictures. An older man, not wanting our intrusion, tapped Aminta with a switch. She said it really did hurt! So we boarded the van and headed off to another village.

The van could only take us a certain distance, so we had to walk the rest of the way.

The children came, flocked around us and led us to a huge oak tree that cast a giant shadow and afforded refreshing shade. Under it, the children had gathered, along with some adults of the village. Bailie, the village representative, had told them that we were coming.

Take a look at these beautiful Ethiopian Jewish children waiting to make their home in the Promised Land.

All of them had worn clothing, some without shoes, most with runny noses, a few with pink eye, several with really bad eczema on their legs and in their hair — but ALL of them beautiful!!!!! Flies made their homes on runny noses and parched lips. All I wanted to do was wipe their noses and swat the flies.

Sherri, whom God had given a vision to build an orphanage for the Ethiopian Jewish orphans, began to organize them, take pictures and videos of them so that we would be able to buy them clothes. Bailie had already begun the process of gathering names, shoe sizes, and ages. Almost 200 children were interviewed.

Rabbi Gedamu gave each of us an opportunity to address them. As part of my sharing I said, “You are children of God and you’re beautiful! Look at your friend sitting next to you and say, ‘You’re beautiful.’” I could tell that Rabbi Gedamu got to that part in his translation, because they all started laughing! It was precious to see.

Below is a family, a young woman with four children (see the baby on her back, feet sticking out!) whose husband died of AIDS! She is too poor to take care of them alone. (The man standing behind her is a patrol who guards the well.)

As we interviewed them, this is the little boy that captured my affections. He stood before us, eyes intense, clothes tattered and skin soiled, proudly resting on his staff. Small in stature with regal features — he would have been the one to whom Samuel would have held the horn of oil over his head and it would have run down.

I got a few of them to dance with me as the driver videotaped! They had such fun seeing themselves dancing on the little screen of my Flip Camera.

As we stayed with them for over two hours, I just knew that God had sent us to them. He had heard their cries. His heart was full of them! And He sent us to clothe them, feed them and bless them . . . and you came along. We would be back in two days with clothes, shoes and food . . . and you will come with us.

THE ETHIOPIAN CUISINE: “God Will Give You Grace”

I remember one time in particular when Marissa Horn returned from a missions trip and shared with us her experiences. She showed us a picture of a whole roasted lamb standing upright on a spit and pictures of the cuisine of tribal villages in Ethiopia.

When asked about how difficult it was to eat the food, she said, “If He sends you to a place, God will give you the grace to eat with them.” That statement has stuck with me, especially now that I am in Ethiopia.

IN ADDIS, ABABA

• The first night in Addis, Rabbi Gedamu and his friend Miskana took us to Top View Restaurant overlooking the city of Addis. We Americans were all cautious because we all had been warned about not eating uncooked foods, avoiding vegetables and not drinking the water. In addition to that, my stomach was still a bit jittery from the malaria medicine. Miskana helped us to order and was very kind to us despite our caution; he told us that the restaurant was safe because it catered to foreigners. I was being very cautious by simply ordering penne pasta with red sauce. I survived and it was good!.

• Continental breakfast at the GT Guest House was more than I expected: cinnamon tea (delicious); roasted beets and potatoes; spinach and potatoes, bread and jam, eggs with onions, red and green peppers and a lentil mixture. Very good! Every night a sweet little girl would make me cinnamon tea!

• The next night we went to Yad Abysinnia, a restaurant with strictly Ethiopian cuisine. In each seating area, there was a kebaro (better to show you the picture than describe it; it’s the circular piece) 
• First we were brought hand soap, warm water, and a warm, moist cloth to wash our hands. We all sat around the kebaro and the waitress brought out a plate of injera, soft Ethiopian flatbread, opened the lid of the kebaro and placed the big round plate of injera inside. On the injera, she placed scoops of a lentil pate’, spinach, roasted beets and potatoes, a cabbage & carrots mixture, and various spices from mild to hot. Then she put generous portions of roasted lamb and beef on the injera on all sides. Then she brought out generous portions of rolled injera. One tears off a piece of injera, and uses it to scoop up whatever you would like. I ate everything except the lamb; it was good and God was gracious. After dinner, she brought more hand cleaner, which was indeed necessary.

• Then we had a bunna (coffee) ceremony. They burn the incense, pop the popcorn, roast the coffee beans, grind them, and then brew the coffee. The whole restaurant smells of coffee. The first cup, pure Ethiopian coffee, is always reserved for guests and adults of the family because it is very strong. Being in Ethiopia, I had to try it. I could only take one sip and reached for the water! I thought, “My rabbi would love this coffee!”  (I asked the lovely Ethiopian ladies who prepared the buna to stay in the picture. See the popcorn, the coffee cups, the various types of coffee bean and the incense)
• On another night, Miskana took us to another Italian restaurant and I ordered what he did the first night: penne pasta with a red pepper tomato sauce, and delicious yeast rolls. SAFE & DELICIOUS.

• In Gondar, Rebekenaha, Rabbi Gedamu’s sister, invited us to her house almost every day for lunch or dinner. She, too, had the standard Ethiopian fare: injera, stewed lamb, roasted chicken in a red paste with boiled eggs, a spinach & potatoes mixture and cabbage & carrots mixture. As a treat we had lentil soup and a delicious bread that her daughter made. (Rabbi Gedamu is slicing the bread.)
• 

• Sherri and I enjoy this delicious bread.
• 
• As is customary after dinner, we had a bunna ceremony. It is customary to wave the roasted coffee beans so that everyone can smell it.

• By midweek, I tried the whole cup of coffee. Needless to say, I was up all night.
• After the wonderful church service in Gondar (which I will tell you about soon when I learn how to upload my videos to my blog), the leaders of the church took us to dinner at an upscale restaurant in Florida Hotel. Okay, I ordered the penne pasta with red pepper sauce. I admit, I haven’t been that adventurous . . . but it is really good!

• I wanted to save this one for last. At the back of the Goha Hotel where we are staying is a peninsula-like terrace that affords a panoramic view of the city with a backdrop of the Gondar mountains. The city itself is some 6500 miles above sea level.  The ancient Castle of Fassilades sits proudly in the distance. A heavenly breeze blows constantly so that at times I have to put on a sweater! Even the hotel takes advantage of this natural feature because it has no central air. Nice! In the morning, I usually dine on eggs scrambled with onions, tomatoes, and peppers, mango juice, toast, jam & yes, you guessed it–cinnamon and ginger tea.

• HERE’S A SIDEBAR: At a private party at the Goho Hotel, there was a whole roasted lamb standing upright on a spit! I still couldn’t get used to the sight OR the fact that there was a station for chunks of raw lamb or beef. (no pictures, sorry!)

The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. (Psalm 116:5)

ANOTHER VISION FULFILLED

Saturday we boarded a plane to fly from Addis Ababa to Gondar. It took us over the dry landscape of Africa. Little towns like Debre Markos and Bahar Dar (that were mentioned in Rabbi Gedamu’s book Journey Beyond Imagination) dotted the barren countryside.

We were picked up by Rabbi Gedamu’s eldest sister, Rebekeneha who owns her own school in Gondar that we’ll get to tour one day. She greeted each of us with the customary Ethiopian greeting (three kisses alternating on each cheek) and a bouquet of flowers and greenery that she says means life.

When we stepped into her school bus, she had spread greenery on the floor so that we could walk on life. How sweet!

Then she took us to the land where the orphanage, primarily for the Beta Yisrael, the Black Jewish children, will be built. There, they will be taken care of as they wait to make aliyah to Israel.

Sherri, the one to whom God had given the vision for this orphanage along with Rabbi Gedamu, wept at the sight as did most of us (yes, including me:-D) at the sight of the land. We could spiritually see the orphanage erected and children running to and fro. Rebekeneha had already hired a guard to protect the land (a young man who greeted us by kissing our knees) and she had already commissioned the planting of little seedlings all around the perimeter of the property. Pray for the rain they need to make them grow tall enough to provide shade and protection for these children.

In 90-degree weather, we marched around the land and prayed for everything 1) from the equipment and manpower needed 2) to favor with the government 3) to all the finances 4) to the children who will be fed, clothed, schooled, trained and especially rescued from the devastation of poverty.

(I stood at the fence and took a picture of the others walking the land.)

Then we went into a little shed, the only building on the property, so that we could pray collectively. (The blue building in the picture above.) Rabbi Gedamu asked Aminta, Sherri, and me to pray, and he closed us in a final prayer.

(We all posed to take a picture on the land: Rebekeneha’s husband, the groundskeeper, me, Rabbi Gedamu, Sherri, Aminta, Rebekeneha, and her two granddaughters in orange.

Later on in the week, we will go to the remote village where we will screen the children who will be the first residents of the orphanage.

It was indeed a day of great joy! Has God not spoken it? Will it not come to pass? Hold on to the vision! Don’t let go!

Thank you for traveling with me.

Our second day in Addis took us to a little piece of heaven. To get there we had to traverse unnamed streets without stop signs or speed limits. Crazy! From several different directions, cars, taxis, motorcyclists, SUV’s and lorries converged upon large intersections without traffic lights. Nerve-wracking!!!! I think that it is amazing that we never saw a traffic accident.

As we turned off the main road onto dirt roads, we saw sporadic pilgrimages of beautiful well-dressed Ethiopians and knew that our destination was near. Like second nature, a young man dressed in cultural garb, white slacks and top with red and green trim and a matching hat, pointed us in the direction of the church we were looking for. Once the driver took us as far as he could, we got out and walked up a red-dirt road into a gated community with a wide overhead sign that read Faith Bible International Church.

Being led around back to what I discovered was the front, we met an associate pastor who had ushers to escort us into the sanctuary. Over seven thousand worshippers had left jobs (maybe) and homes to worship God all day on a Tuesday. The most amazingly jubilant worship was taking place. The worship leader sang in their native Amharic language. I didn’t need to know the language because I recognized the Spirit. I joined in clapping, moving with them in their characteristic worship dance, and embracing a celebration of the Living God and (Yesus Kristos) Yeshua His Son.

An Ethiopian Choir from a local church arrayed like singers and dancers for royalty sang songs of deep fervent worship and electric declaration of the presence of the King. 

After service, we waited at the end of the road for our driver to pick us up. Aminta and I have on our dance outfits; Sherri is in the middle. The others are Rabbi Gedamu’s friends from Israel.

Twenty years ago a pastor prophesied that I would be dancing in Africa. The enemy pulled every stop so that I (listen to me now!) I could somehow thwart the plan of God.

His first tactic: UNBELIEF
When the prophet declared that word over my life, I immediately though, “What is this prophet talking about? I have no desire to go to Africa.” When someone tried to affirm the prophet’s words in my life, I even verbalized my unbelief. Afterwards, I put it out of my mind.

God’s Faithfulness:
Although I put it out of my mind, God made sure it was always in my heart.
Twenty years before the prophecy, this is what He did:

• Piqued my interest in Blacks & Judaism.
• Allowed me to watch the mass exodus of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel.
• Developed in me a love for Ethiopian Jewry.
• Twenty years after the prophecy, this is what He did.

Encouraged me to write down all the prophecies that had ever been spoken over my life. There it was!

• Three years ago, He sent a prophet to tell me that I would be going to Africa.
• Heard Ethiopian Messianic Jewish Rabbi Kokeb Gedamu speak.
• Wrote his book Journey Beyond Imagination

His second tactic: SICKNESS

• Three days before my trip, I developed a sore throat. My doctor did not want me to go into a foreign country with a borderline infection, so she prescribed amoxicyllin, 2 pills each day for 10 days.
• One day before my trip, I came down with laryngitis.
• One day before my trip, almost one hour after taking my malaria pill ( which I had to take because I was going to Gondar, Ethiopia) I threw up, possibly the pill as well. Am I allergic to the medication? I wondered. My doctor and pharmacist’s advice was bleak. You’re on two antibiotics. Your system is not used to it. Don’t take calcium or magnesium with it, especially not until you have finished one of them. You need to eat yogurt. (Okay, I’m going to a third world country. I’m hardly supposed to eat anything while there! Yogurt???) That means, also, what is the use of taking my multivitamins. My friend suggested buying Acidopholous. Here’s the difficult part: I would not know if the medication worked until I was on the 13-hour plane ride to Ethiopia. What if I threw up the medication on the plane?

For someone who is not used to taking medication I have to take Mucinex and Dramamine before boarding the plane (for vertigo and sinuses), 1 tablet of amoxicyllin in the morning, a malaria pill and one acidophulous in the afternoon, and another amoxicyllin at night.

God’s faithfulness:
On the plane ride to Ethiopia (praying all the way) I take the pill. An hour later I have not thrown up — although I still have laryngitis.

His third tactic: HUMAN ERROR & RED TAPE

A couple of months prior, I discovered my name misspelled on my flight itinerary. When I called the flight agent, he assured me it was corrected and sent me a corrected itinerary. When I arrived in Norfolk to board the plane to D.C., they would not allow me to board, saying that the name had not been corrected in the system. After much pleading (through my hoarseness), asking to see a supervisor, and going to a new flight agent, I was still rejected. Dejected, my husband and I took my bags to the car and headed for home.

God’s faithfulness:
After calling Aminta, a traveling companion, who had already checked in, she encouraged me to drive to D.C.–something that my husband and I had spoken of as a possibility when we were driving home. He couldn’t drive me because he had to report to work in 90 minutes. After several attempts, I finally found a friend who said, “I’ll be right over.”

His fourth tactic: TIME
En route to the airport, I had repetitive talks with my travel agent, Aminta, and Rabbi Gedamu (the one who organized the trip). All encouraged me to get to Dulles International Airport as soon as possible. Rabbi Gedamu had been working with the Ethiopian officials there. A few wrong turns, traffic, and a GPS which probably took us the longest route were against us. ETA, according to GPS was 10:17. The flight would leave at 11:15. We eventually found the airport. Sarah jumped out of the car and quickly put my bags on the sidewalk. She can’t get out of the car and I am stuck trying to manage two large suitcases, a carry on and my purse. A wonderful gentleman offered to help me take my baggage to the Ethiopian Airlines counter. “Too late” the woman behind the counter says. “Too late!” After much explanation of my plight, she still continued, “Everyone is gone! Too late.” So I called Sarah and told her not to pull away. They won’t let me on.

God’s faithfulness:
As I wondered how I was going to get my two large suitcases and my carry on back to the car, a voice, like an angel, like the characteristic greeting of every Ethiopian I’ve met, said, “Don’t worry” to me. Then he said to her, “Let her on.” He asked for my passport, and the same woman who said, “Too Late” processed my papers. Then this angel escorted me through the check-in, through the screening, through the concourses all the way to the gate where my plane sat. He said, “Go,” motioning with his hand. I turned to look at this angel and said, “God Bless You!” I gave the ticket agent my boarding pass, and I prophetically boarded Ethiopian Airlines, taking me on a 13-hour trip to destiny. Added blessing, my baggage arrived with everyone else’s.

I wonder if I could ever get used to the smell of this city. Sherry says it’s incense; I believe it’s somewhere between ammonia and urine–“urmonia,” how’s that? 🙂 From the view of my balcony, assorted trees give shade to makeshift tin houses for the poor and gated, upscale housing for the rich where guards are paid to sit outside all day for protection. Goats and donkeys graze on the small patches of grass alongside the road. In the backdrop apartment buildings stand, and wooden scaffolding–the skeletal frames of things to come, and in the remote distance the mountains of Addis.

The city started early. I don’t think it ever slept, really. Roosters know it’s morning, waking us to the cacophony of five million inhabitants. Somewhere out there, hammers beat out steady rhythms of men earning money from one of the few industries that is remaking the city of Addis. The locals, speaking their delightfully expressive language, walk muddy paths to work, most to little tin shanties that seem to line every street or road, paved and unpaved. From these shanties, they sell wares ranging from bottled water that has soaked in the sun’s rays to old fruit to cultural and modern clothing.

I wonder what I can leave this city! When my family vacationed in Asheville, NC, my son, a young lad at the time, and I left our names carved somewhere, I can’t remember where and probably would never be able to find it again. What could I leave here, Lord! In this city of Addis Ababa that needs so much? I believe that what we do impacts not just this life but eternity. How can I impact this city for you? How can I help to change one life that in turn will impact others? You brought me here so I know you will show me. One step toward my destiny is here. I open my spirit to you, Father! Show me. . .as I bless this city with my presence and therefore with more of Yours!

I attached pictures of the view from my balcony if you want to see them. Thank you for your prayers and for those of you who sowed into this trip. What I leave in this city, you also leave!